Cultural Differences

Since I last wrote an entry I have been very busy with school so I dont have any big adventures to report on. However, even with all my work I have really enjoyed observing the culture. Here are some of my favorite/confounding cultural differences:

1. Personal Space- In short it doesn't exist here. Personal boundaries are a foreign concept. This seems to be both a positive and negative aspect of Argentine culture. First of all, it makes people appear much more friendly than in the states. The custom is to greet and say goodbye to everyone personally when you enter and leave a room. Even when someone walks into class, they kiss the cheeks of every person even remotely close to them. I think that if this was the practice in the US my family would never, ever, leave an event. The negative is the extreme displays of public affection in couples. We were talking to my teacher about this in my Spanish class and she defended the practice by saying "they are transferring positive energy to each other," regardless, I would be a lot more comfortable if they did it not in the middle of the street or next to me on the subway!
2. Protests- I think I can say that growing up I had more exposure to political protests than most people but the protests in BA are bizarre. For instance, they are very scheduled and only last for short periods of times. Every Wednesday morning I walk by a small protest of about 30 men in the same plaza that only seems to last for about two hours. Earlier in my stay there was a strike on the subway. My Spanish teacher explained that it happens twice a year, always during the two hours after rush hour, doesnt include all the lines and is publicized well in advance. I'm still confused as to what the point of that is... Mom? Dad? I think its cool how frequent protests are here but Magda and my Spanish teacher definitely disagree. Magda says that protesting is a national sport and people don't care what they are protesting. Yesterday in my Spanish class we could hear firecrackers going off at a pretty regular interval. My classmates and I were all disturbed by this but our teacher dismissed it as people trying to get attention. Also, on the theme of protests., the University of Buenos Aires was taken over by students in protest of something (its not entirely clear what exactly they are protesting) a month ago and classes still have not resumed, you can't even get into the buildings.
   
3. Census- I bet you are wondering how the Census could be a controversial topic and believe me, I am surprised it is. I was explaining to Magda that I was studying the Census in my Sociology of the Population class when she proclaimed that she hates the Census (which is happening again at the end of October). She said that she doesnt open her door during Census time because then the government can get your information and use it against use you. I'm unsure exactly what her reason is but I chalk it up to the experience of living through political turmoil that she has experienced.
4. Photocopies- No one said that these were all going to be important cultural differences... One of the most confusing parts of the university system here is how you get the readings. If you are lucky, your class is organized and you simply go to the photocopy store close to the school say the name of the class and are given a fat stack of papers. Usually a few hundred pages copied from various books. (copyright laws? what are those) If you are unlucky, like I am in one of my classes, it is a much longer process. I spent a week trying to find the 500 page book I needed in various bookstores before I caved and went with the Argentine system. I went to the library of my school and checked out the book I needed (it was a process, he had to re-glue the cover on and I was only able to keep it for one day). Then I went to the photocopier, left the book for a few hours, before coming back to pick up my huge stack of photocopies, held together by a tiny staple. In case you are curious, it costs about $12 to photocopy an entire 500 pg political science book. I am very much looking forward to ordering my books on Amazon next semester!
5. Paseadores de Perros- This is by far my favorite cultural difference, and what I imagine my dad would hate. Paseadores are dogwalkers. You might be thinking that all dog walkers are the same but, boy are you wrong! Here it is an extreme sport, not to mention a full-time profession! There is a national law saying that you are only allowed to walk 14 (FOURTEEN!!!!!!!) dogs at one time. And, let me tell you, people don't always follow it! This means that you can be walking down a very busy street and turn the corner and be face to face with fourteen dogs! Its amazing how well behaved the dogs get along. The Paseadores are definitely one of the most entertaining things to see while I walk to class.

I have been trying to get a picture that accurately captures the amazing dog walkers but I never seem to have my camera at the right time. Here is an average paseadora:

I'm traveling a lot in the next two weeks: to Rosario and Salta, so I promise an exciting blog update filled with pictures when I get back!

Hasta Luego,
Miriam

Feliz Dia de los Estudiantes!

Today is the first day of spring in Buenos Aires and a national holiday, Day of the Students. With all my classes canceled my friends and I are going to follow the Argentine tradition of having a picnic in a park but first, I am way overdue for a blog post.

Two weekends ago some friends and I took a 15 hour bus ride to Mendoza, the capital of the province Mendoza. Mendoza is located in the foothill of the Andes, meaning there are some great views from town. The first day we went horseback riding in the Andes. We were definitely not very skilled with the horses but our gaucho leader, Diego, helped us make it through the almost 3 hour ride. When we got back to the camp we had an asado, or giant bbq, while Diego sang traditional songs. The van coming to pick us up and take us back to town broke down so we ended up staying in the mountains until 1 am, but with all the delicious food we weren't too upset to be stranded, or "Strandes in the Andes" as my friend liked to say.

A view from the top:Diego making sure we are headed in the right direction:Taking pictures while riding is very difficult.A pretty cool background.
Diego serenading us:

The next day we headed the opposite direction out of town, towards the extensive wineries. We rented bikes and were off on a biking tour of wine and chocolate making places. Our first stop was the wine museum where they tried to teach us all the fine details of wine making and sophisticated things to say while tasting wine, I don't think it stuck though. Next, we headed to a chocolate making boutique, which was more on my level. After tasting what seemed like a million types of chocolates we continued on to a few more bodegas before returning, exhausted to town. We had a near crisis when my friend Kelsey's bike broke down on the side of the road. She was near the back of the group so two of us stayed with her while the others continued on unknowingly. Thankfully, a big group of locals assembled, including a police officer on a bike who helped us call the bike company and get Kelsey a new bike.

This was a lot more boring than...
This:
The final day we went for a walk/hike in the giant park in town. It ended with a hike up a very steep hill to a monument to the Army of the Andes. The views were spectacular from the top! After a very active weekend, with our leg muscles aching, we headed back to Buenos Aires for class.

Taking a break on the hill to admire the views:
This weekend was less eventful but also fun! I went to MALBA, the biggest art museum, and explored a new neighborhood with my friend Hannah. On Saturday we went out into the province of Buenos Aires to watch a rugby game, man is that a confusing sport! In typical Argentine style the grilling of meat next to the rugby field was a big attraction, probably more so than the actual game for my friends.

This week is art week so I am hoping to go to some of the exhibitions before I have to crack down and study for another midterm this weekend!

Hasta Luego,
Miriam

Ole! Happy Rosh Hashanah!

So in between school work I was able to experience some AWESOME Buenos Aires activities this week!

On Sunday some friends and I went to Plaza Armenia for the Rosh Hashanah Urbana Festival. It was basically a giant block party to highlight Jewish life in Argentina. My favorite part was obviously the free apples and honey but once my stomach was full there were a ton of other cool things going on. They had traditional music, arts and crafts, vendors with all sorts of traditional items with an Argentine twist, exhibits on important parts of the High Holidays such as reflection and tradition and finally they were selling all sorts of delicious Middle Eastern food.

The crowd.

Writing my name as a part of one of the activities.

This meat is for you, Mark.

A painting we watched them make.

Tuesday was even cooler! My friend Aileen was a genius and bought us tickets to see the World Champs, Spain, take on Argentina in soccer! After warnings from our host moms about safety at the game and promising to only speak in Spanish we set off for the River Plate Stadium in Belgrano. Dressed in our Argentine jerseys we joined the crowd streaming to the stadium. Once there we climbed to the highest section and found our seats. It was so interesting to compare a sporting event in Argentina to all the ones I have been to in the US. First of all, there is almost no technology, only one score board that has the score, time and can say "GOOOOOOL!!!" There are also very few advertisements anywhere and food is dirt cheap, the only downside was the lack of halftime show.

The game got off to a rough start with Spain playing keep away for what seemed like forever but was probably less than two minutes. But, with the stadium packed with all Argentine fans (I think I saw two Spain fans the whole time) the home team had to impress! Messi scored in the tenth minute and then a teammate followed up with a goal in the thirteenth on the exact same play! Argentina scored again on a goalie blunder and went into the half up 3-0! We were so excited because we had expected to lose that we bought ourselves celebratory second popsicles (it was hot up there!) The second half was less eventful but still a ton of fun! We left five minutes early to miss the stampede of deliriously happy Argentine fans but it was an AMAZING experience! (Pictures to come)

Tonight Magda (my madre afitriona or host mom) and I had a special dinner to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. Magda is not religious at all but she proclaimed that even though she knows nothing about Rosh Hashanah we could still have a party! She cooked up homemade noquis and chicken because that is what she is used to eating on special occasions. She also made a DELICIOUS chocolate cake with dulce de leche in the middle! I refused the third piece so she made me promise I would eat some tomorrow, I guess I can manage that if she insists.

Haag Sameach to all!

Now all that stands between me and a weekend in the Andes is one midterm!

Hasta Luego,

Miriam

Tango, tango, TANGO

This week marked the end of the World Tango Festival and while I do not know who won (a Japanese couple won last year in a surprising fashion), my friends and I did our best to enjoy the festivities.

On Saturday we started out with a trip to Carlos Gardel's house which has been transformed into a museum about his life and all things tango. There we participated in free tango lessons which were hilarious. First of all, all of us towered over the little Argentine man who was teaching us. Secondly, anyone that has ever seen me walk can probably imagine that I do not have what it takes to be a tango dancer, my friends were much more coordinated.

Hanging out with Carlos Gardel.

If this doesn't look like coordination I don't know what does!

After we were done trying it out ourselves and after a quick and delicious empanada break we headed off to watch the pros dance. We somehow managed to get into the SEMIFINALS! After waiting in a long line we were rewarded with an incredible, and free show! We had our favorite pair but honestly they were all incredible.

Our favorite couple.

As we were leaving we saw our favorite dancer in the lobby and got our picture taken with her. She was still dressed in her beautiful dress and had huge fake eyelashes and other make up on but was wearing converses so she made us promise to take the picture from above the ankles.

Looking fancy...

until the shoes!
We finished the day with a trip to my favorite restaurant, Cumana, for a delicious dinner of locro. It was a great day! Unfortunately this weekend is less fun because I have two short papers for Monday and a midterm on Thursday. But dont feel too bad for me because I am going to see the World Champs Spain play Argentina in soccer this Tuesday and then on Thursday am heading to Mendoza for a weekend in the Andes! Its a tough life!

Paz!
Miriam

Us at the Festival

(photos stolen from Hannah and Kelsey)